Facing history squarely prerequisite for better ties

The reopening of the regular talks between the foreign ministers of China, the Republic of Korea and Japan on Sunday in Seoul, after a hiatus of three years, sends a positive signal of a thaw in the relations between Japan and its two neighbors.

As three close neighbors and major economies in East Asia, their economic cooperation and joint efforts in various fields can make a great difference to the situation not just in East Asia but also the world at large.

However, China and the ROK have been at loggerheads with Japan in recent years because of how Japan looks at the war of aggression it launched against its neighbors.